Gawia Sowa Festival Reunites Dayak Bidayuh Families Across Borders

RRI.CO.ID, Bengkayang - The 2026 Gawia Sowa cultural festival in Jagoi Babang Subdistrict, Bengkayang Regency, West Kalimantan, has served as a vital cross-border platform for kinship and reunions among the Dayak Bidayuh community split between Indonesia and Malaysia. The annual event highlights how indigenous heritage continues to bridge national boundaries in the Borneo frontier.

According to Chairman of the 2026 Gawia Sowa Organizing Committee, Debit, the peak of the traditional celebrations welcomed a massive turnout of approximately 1,600 Dayak Bidayuh descendants currently residing across the border in Malaysia. The Festival ran from June 1 to 3, 2026.

"In 2026, there will be around 1,600 families who are still related by blood and are Dayak Bidayuh who live in Malaysia and have registered with the committee to attend Gawia Sowa," Debit confirmed in Jagoi Babang on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, as quoted by Antara.

Fundamentally, the Gawia Sowa ritual acts as a profound manifestation of public gratitude for the annual agricultural harvests and spiritual blessings received over the past year. Concurrently, it functions as a critical social mechanism to tighten ancestral family bonds among the Dayak Bidayuh people living along the Indonesian-Malaysian border zone.

The committee chairman noted that the execution of this year's festival featured a significant logistical shift compared to previous iterations. While the celebrations are historically centered inside traditional longhouses, a collective consensus reached by local tribal elders led to the 2026 festivities being held at the Jagoi Cultural Hall (Balai Adat Jagoi) instead.

In light of these changes, Debit passionately urged the younger generations to actively guard and protect the timeless heritage, which has been passed down through generations.

Echoing those sentiments, Head of Jagoi Babang Subdistrict, Saidin, underlined that Gawia Sowa plays a foundational role in sustaining the cultural survival of the Dayak Bidayuh while fortifying cross-border diplomacy and social harmony.

He added that keeping these ancient customs alive enriches the region's cultural capital, directly supporting the expansion of the local tourism sector and reinforcing the identity of indigenous border communities. Gawia Sowa stands out as a highly anticipated fixture within the broader annual cycle of Dayak harvest festivals celebrated across Bengkayang Regency once the agricultural reaping period concludes. ***